Comparing Notes
by JoannaR
Summary: When one Doctor has a message to pass on to another, their companions do some catching up up
1. Chapter 1

Comparing Notes 1

Monday, 28 February 2011

12:26 PM

They paused inside the door and glanced around. Except for the locals orange-hued skin it could have been any number of London pubs - dark, dank, crowded. Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust. Smelled the same, too. The odour of stale beer and too many unwashed males in a in confined space was almost thick enough to cut.

The Doctor had spotted someone at the bar and began to elbow his way through the crowd. "Find somewhere and make yourself inconspicuous," be called over his shoulder. "This won't take long."

_Inconspicuous, _right.Alreadysomeof the nearby males had lifted their gaze from the drink in front of them to eye her in a way that was all too familiar and just as unwelcome. With a put-upon sigh retreated to the cluster of tables, hoping to find an empty one, pointedly ignoring each leer she passed.

Rose came to a sudden halt. Sitting alone at a table in the corner was a woman, the _only_ other woman in the place, looking every bit as uncomfortable as Rose felt. She was a few years older than Rose, possibly human, certainly not a local, with shoulder-length brown hair.

"'Scuse me," Rose began, "would you mind if it sat here? Only... " she indicated to the room of gawking drunks behind her.

"Sure. Actually. I'd be glad if you did. My friend went to get us some drinks 20 minutes ago and I'm starting to feel like a zoo exhibit."

The girl had a warm, friendly voice, and what sounded like an American accent. Rose had learnt that didn't necessarily mean she was. "Are you from Earth?" That might be a safer starting point.

She laughed. "Yeah. I'm American. You from London?"

Rose grinned in return. "Yep. Umm... This might sound like a mental question, but_ when_?"

"Well, it was 1985 when I left. Been travelling for almost three years. My name's Peri, by the way."

"Yeah, sorry. I'm Rose." _1985._ _I hadn't_ _even_ _been_ _born._

"You're here with someone?"

"Said he had to meet someone here, that I should make myself _inconspicuous,_ until he was done."

Peri gave a short laugh. "Yeah. The Doctor told me much the same thing..."

"Hang about, _the_ _Doctor_? My friend's called the Doctor too."

''Young guy, blond hair, blue eyes, cute, but kind of vague?" Peri asked hopefully.

"Nah, forty-ish, brown hair, crew cut, switches between moody and manic at the drop of a hat." Rose couldn't help but grin, that description didn't even begin to do him justice.

"Sounds like fun," Peri laughed.

"Oh, yeah. He is that. How about yours?"

"Where to begin? Loud, obnoxious, overbearing, argumentative, shocking dress sense, thinks he's right about everything – which wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't..."

"But?" There had to be more to him than that.

"But underneath it all he cares about the small things, the important things – ordinary people living ordinary lives, injustice, butterflies." Peri smiled softly.

"Sounds like my Doctor," Rose mused. "Look, what you said about the young blond guy...what did you mean?"

Peri paused, as if choosing her words carefully. "Before he looked like he does now, he was a different man."

"Different how?"

"Well, he looked completely different. And his personality changed. Before he was really sweet. But underneath it all he was still the same person. What I said about the important things, that didn't change at all, once I learnt how to ignore all the bluster." For a moment Peri's smile slipped into something almost bitter. "It took a while."

"But how did he change bodies? Your Doctor's not human either, is he?"

"No, he's not. We were poking about some planet, minding our own business and got poisoned. Before we could get back to the TARDIS we were caught up in a feud between drug runners, soldiers and some insane drug baron ..." Peri shuddered at the memory. "Anyway, long story short, the Doctor found an antidote, but there wasn't enough for both of us. By the time I came round he was, well, dying I think. But instead of dying his body changed. Regeneration, he called it ... Rose are you okay?"

Rose had barely heard a word after "TARDIS", her heartbeat thudding in her ears. "TARDIS," she repeated softly to herself. "Regeneration? What exactly happened to him?"

"I don't remember much about the actual process. Just, one minute there was this blinding light and then he was someone else. Afterwards was pretty unpleasant, though. It was almost as if his brain was scrambled by the whole thing. He didn't know who I was from one moment to the next. And the mood swings were," she paused for a moment and shivered, "well, I wouldn't want to go through it again." She studied Rose for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Peri, I think your Doctor and mine are the same bloke." Why had he never mentioned that he would change?

Standing at the bar, chatting amiably to the publican, the realization that he really should get back to Peri floating in the back of his conciousness, he was suddenly aware that someone was standing behind him. No, not just someone. Himself. Slowly he turned. Eyeing the newcomer's spartanly neat and inconspicuous outfit he suddenly found himself enviously wishing he'd opted for a similar approach. It would have saved many arguments with Peri, for starters. "Hmmm," he began, hoping to sound disapproving, "it's a bit unimaginative."

"I'm not here to trade fashion secrets."

Well, at least the accent went with the outfit. "Then why are you here? You know how much the High Council disapproves of me crossing my own time stream." Something dark flitted across his other self's face, but then he smiled.

"Yeah, I know. But I've got a message for you."

"A message? From whom?"

"Me."

"That's highly dangerous! Changing our history..."

"I'm not changing our history."

"Oh? How is that possible?"

"Because I remember this meeting. I remember having this conversation. And I remember realizing that Peri had been right all along about that outfit."

The Doctor drew in a harsh breath, about to protest vociferously. How dare this upstart tell him what he'd just thought?

"Don't start. I just need to tell you something important."

"Very well. What? And which one of me are you?"

"Nine. Now, in a few regenerations you'll meet a human in London called Rose Tyler. When you ask her to come with you she refuses. But don't take no for an answer. Go back for her. It's important."

"Why? Why is one human so important."

"They're all important, you know that. And I can't tell you more than that. When you meet her you'll know why."

"And I'm supposed to remember this through the next several regenerations, am I?" Something about the smug grin on this newer him made him want to slap himself.

"You might think you've forgotten, but when the time comes you'll remember."

"Very well." Arguing with himself had never been a productive past -time . "Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to Peri. I have a nasty suspicion the patrons in this bar don't see many woman – apart from their mothers."

"Not a problem," Nine responded, following him towards the tables, "I need to find ... oh, bugger!"

The Doctor followed his gaze and found himself looking at Peri, no longer alone at her table, talking earnestly with a young, blonde woman. "Rose Tyler, I presume?"

"Yeah. I should have known ..."

Suddenly feeling more in control of the situation, the Doctor smiled and followed his ninth incarnation to Peri's table.

Rose looked up and saw the Doctor bearing down on their table, looking anything but happy. So she shot him a glare to let him know he wasn't the only one. Then she spotted the man striding after him, and forgot, briefly, that she was angry.

When Peri had mentioned his lack of dress sense she'd never imagined something _this_ bad. She couldn't decide what was worse – the yellow and black striped trousers, the multicoloured coat, or the waistcoat that looked like someone had thrown up on it. Then she spotted the shirt with the question marks on the collar. Yep, that was it. Naffest Shirt Ever. She'd never rib the Doctor about not changing out of his black trousers and leather jacket again. Then she remembered that this _was_ the Doctor- that someday her Doctor would also become someone else, and she was still mad at him.

"We have to go," he said without preamble. But she wasn't going to be deterred so easily.

"Were you ever going to mention this little party trick of yours? Or were you going to just leave it until I woke up one day and found you looking like someone else?"

"Actually," he replied, glancing uncomfortably around him, "I was hoping we'd never have to have this conversation. And this is certainly not the place to do it."

Rose wasn't in the mood to be reasonable. "Tough. I want to know now."

"Alright. But back in the TARDIS, yeah? We've already compromised my time line enough for one day."

She could sense Peri and the other Doctor watching them curiously and bit back the temptation to argue just for the hell of it. Instead she gave Peri a smile that promised she wasn't going to let the Doctor off the hook easily.

"It was good to meet you, Peri. Keep him safe for me, yeah?"

Peri nodded solemnly.

"Oh, and Doctor? Nice shirt." She turned and made her way briskly to the door, her Doctor floundering in her wake.

The Doctor looked indignantly at Peri. "What precisely is wrong with this shirt?" He noticed his ninth incarnation still lingering. "Was there something else? Or do you have more fashion tips?"

"No, it's just ..." he glanced furtively at Peri, "well, we both know they can't stay with us forever. Just ... Don't assume she's happy where she is. Make sure." With that he strode out the door in pursuit of his fuming companion.

Sighing, he plonked himself down in the chair beside Peri. "Honestly, I do _not _improve with age."

She could hear his footsteps behind her, rushing to catch up. She didn't slow her pace.

"Rose wait!" he called.

He was almost on her, so she stopped abruptly and whirled angrily to face him. "You really weren't going to tell me?"

"What did you expect me to say – it travels in time and one day I'm going to change into someone else?" He sighed, and reached out for her hand, and she allowed him to draw her into a darkened alley, away from any interested onlookers. "Look, there's a good chance you'll never have to see the next me. This body should last me over a century of your time."

"Yeah, but we end up running for lives on a regular basis. Sooner or later..."

"Sooner or later our luck is going to run out. I know that. But you can't regenerate. " His gaze dropped. "One way or another you'll leave me."

She had no answer for that one. The stood silently for a moment, her anger deflated. "So how does it happen?" she asked finally.

He was silent for so long she thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he slumped against a wall and began to talk in the soft, pained tone she'd heard on the few occasions he'd talked about his people. "On Gallifrey, it was usually a smooth process. When a Time Lord's body wore out they regenerated. With the proper preparation it was more a renewal – mostly they ended up looking much like they had. No personality changes, no radically different faces..."

"But what about you?" From what little he'd told her she had the impression he'd spent most of his life travelling the universe in the TARDIS. Hurtling from one adventure to the next. Hardly time to prepare for a regeneration.

"I never regenerated on Gallifrey. And I've never looked the same twice. When you're clinging to existence, hanging on to your appearance is a minor consideration."

Rose was silent for a long time. He knew she must have realized that his claim about this body lasting over a hundred years was likely to become a lie.

"Will you remember me?"

Her voice was so soft he barely heard her. Oh, Rose. He wondered how much Peri had told her. Poor Peri... Recalling his advice to his younger self he resolved to act upon it himself. Rose wouldn't be with him forever, no matter how much wished it could be otherwise.

He had no clear recollection of moving, just felt Rose's surprised 'ooof' as they impacted with the wall. The exclamation was swallowed as he pressed his mouth to hers. She didn't react. Probably should have checked she wanted this before I pinned her to a wall, he thought belatedly.

Suddenly she came to life. Her hands that had come to rest against his chest gripped the lapels of his jacket and she pulled him closer, kissing him back ferociously.

It wasn't until oxygen became a serious priority that his next coherent thought came. In the intervening minutes both their hands hand found their way beneath clothing, eagerly testing the texture of foreign skin, and he was pressed tightly against her. His hips thrust lazily against her, causing them both to moan softly. Finally freed after centuries of being firmly under the control of his mind, his body was reluctant to relinquish that freedom. Finally he settled for simply being able to form a coherent sentence.

"I'll never forget you, Rose Tyler," he breathed into her ear.

She shivered. "Good."

"I think we really need to get back to the TARDIS, now. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure we could get arrested for this."

Rose titled her head up to meet his eyes, a challenging look in hers. "So?"


	2. Chapter 2

Comparing Notes 2

Monday, 28 February 2011

12:27 PM

His eyes glittered dangerously and a slow, feral smile inched its way across his face. If she didn't know him so well she might have been intimidated. Instead, she burned with need. The need to cast aside all the pretence and admit what they both wanted.

For a long moment they simply stared at each other, pressed close, chests heaving with desire. The friction that created was beginning to drive her mad, so she pulled his head back down to hers for another of his mind-melting kisses.

His tongue seemed intent on discovering every nerve-ending in her mouth, so she decided to do some exploring of her own. Her hands slipped under his jumper again and slid slowly up his back, savouring the feel of his soft skin, warmer than she remembered. Obligingly, he eased back far enough to allow her to slide a hand around to his chest.

When one of his hands closed over her breast she suddenly realized his ulterior motive in allowing her some space. Then his fingers slipped inside her bra to brush teasingly over her nipple and she could do nothing but arch into his touch and moan into the kiss. She felt his response pressed hard against her stomach and had to fight down another moan.

His hand slipped lower now, suddenly urgent. As he fumbled ineffectually with the button on her jeans she found herself wishing she'd worn something else today.

With a frustrated growl he pulled his mouth from hers to focus on the difficult task. "You know," he panted, "it wouldn't kill you to wear a skirt occasionally."

"Okay, next time you're planning on ravishing me in a dark alley, let me know and I'll dress for ... ohhh!"

He'd won the battle with her jeans and slid a triumphant hand down into her panties, driving all rational thought from her brain. He stroked her slowly and gave her that smug, feral grin again.

_Two can play at that game_, she thought. One hand drifted down to gently rub his erection through his trousers. His hand froze against her. While he was paralyzed she opened his trousers, with considerably _less _difficulty she noted, and took him in her hand. She stroked her hand along his length and felt a noise that sounded suspiciously like a purr vibrate through his entire body. Intrigued, she repeated the action. This time the sound was accompanied by a convulsive movement of his hand that had her gasping.

Again he stilled, disentangling a hand from her bra to cup her face and forcing her to look at him. "Rose, are you sure about this?" he rasped.

Her incredulous look apparently did nothing to convince him, so she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Yes."

In a flurry of movement he pushed both her jeans and knickers to the ground, freed her feet from them and hoisted her effortlessly into the air. All she could do was wrap her arms around his shoulders, her legs about his waist and trust him not to drop her. Her back braced against the wall she felt him pause, poised at her entrance, waiting for her. Impatiently she tugged on his shoulders and he pushed into her with one smooth movement.

Momentary discomfort dissolved into a slow-burning pleasure. The feeling of him moving within her was like nothing she'd ever experienced. He was wilder and more exciting than Jimmy Stone, safer and more gentle than Mickey could ever hope to be. And he was hers. Maybe just for this moment, but hers.

His movements were becoming less coordinated as they both approached the edge. She was so close, and she could feel him holding tight to his control, not wanting to leave her behind. His grasp on her slipped slightly as he tried to free a hand.

Panicked momentarily by the shift in balance she clenched tightly around him. He moaned, and bit gently at the juncture of her neck and shoulder and that was all it took. They were both flying, melting, singing. Finally they came to rest against the wall, a sticky, heaving mass.

For several long moments they were silent as they recovered. The Doctor was still pressed tightly into her, nuzzling kisses to her throat. "We _really_ need to get back to the TARDIS now."

"Now?"

"Yeah. Need less clothes," he tugged at her tee-shirt. "And more time to explore."

Her mouth felt suddenly dry. They stared at each other, electricity crackling between them. She pressed a kiss to his ear and felt him harden again within her. Alien indeed.

"You'd better let me down then, or we'll never get there."

Carefully he pulled out and lowered her to the ground. He knelt before her and helped her step into her panties and jeans, planting kisses up her thighs as he pulled them up. A little revenge was called for.

"Besides," she continued casually, "I need to call Shireen. Tell her I've just had a 900 year-old alien against a wall in an alley behind a pub. She's convinced I don't know how to live dangerously."

"Is that right?" he rumbled, standing to press against her once more. "There are people I could call, you know, who'd be very interested to hear about the sexy, young blonde _I've_ just had against a wall in an alley behind a pub. But I won't."

"Why's that?"

He swooped down for another deep, dark kiss. "Because you're mine. I don't want to share."

"I would appreciate it, my good fellow, if you would unhand my young friend. She doesn't appreciate it, and it's hardly the way to make a good first impression."

They baffled him, really, humanoid mating rituals. What baffled him even more was the apparent inability of the males to recognize a rejection. It was blatantly obvious, even to him, that Peri wasn't interested in most of the advances she got. Why didn't her would-be suitors realize it? He was certain the last one would be walking with a limp for a very long time. Thank goodness he was above all that.

"Come along, Peri. I think it's time we left."

"Well it's about time."

The Doctor wrenched open the door, took two paces, and froze. Across the street was his ninth self, hand-in-hand with his young companion, Rose, who looked somewhat disheveled. Dumbstruck, he watched as they paused in the shadows of an alley for a kiss. There was nothing chaste about it. After a long moment they separated and practically dragged each other down the street.

"Doctor what are you doing? You're blocking the door."

Peri sounded quite peeved, but he found he couldn't move. Finally she slid around him. "What is it, Doctor?" she laid a hand on his arm, glancing uneasily up and down the now-deserted street. "What's wrong?"

"Um ... er ... nothing. Shall we go?" With that he strode off in the opposite direction to his counterpart, a confused Peri trailing behind. _What on Earth has happened to me … him? _

Rose had never been so glad to see the TARDIS. She was certain they'd parked much closer. Probably didn't help that they'd been sort of _distracted_ on the way back.

"Oi! What are you waiting for?"

The Doctor had yanked open the door and when she didn't immediately follow him in he grabbed her by the elbow and propelled her inside. He hustled up the gang-plank into the console room. Normally she'd protest about being man-handled like that, but she enjoyed the feel of his hands on her and the smoldering fire in his eyes too much.

It came as no surprise when he pinned her to the central console and lifted her up to sit on one edge. He was the only thing stopping her from sliding off, and that was just fine by her. This time his kiss was slow and languid, but just as world-shaking. It was a good ten minutes before they surfaced, and another couple before they noticed they had an audience.

"Hey, don't let me interrupt, guys. I was enjoying the show." A sleep-tousled, shirtless Jack lounged in the doorway, watching them with interest. "Unless you'd like me to join you?"

Rose wrapped her arms around the Doctor's waist and smirked at Jack. "Sorry. I'm an only child. I don't share my toys."

The Doctor didn't bother removing his hands from under her top. He slid a palm up her side and kissed the side of her neck. Rose moaned and heard Jack do the same. "Yeah, push off, Jack. Can't you see we're busy?"

Jack laughed. "Can't blame a guy for trying. But if you change your minds you know where to find me." With that he turned and flounced out the door. His parting shot drifted along the corridor to them. "... and it's about time, too."

The Doctor grinned down at her. "So Rose Tyler, your bed or mine?"

Hmmm. Her bed was closer, but his was undiscovered territory and she was an adventurer at heart. "Yours."


	3. Chapter 3

Comparing notes 1.5

Monday, 28 February 2011

11:54 AM

"I would appreciate it, my good fellow, if you would unhand my young friend. She doesn't appreciate it, and it's hardly the way to make a good first impression."

They baffled him, really, the apparent inability of the males in a drinking establishment to recognize a rejection, even while sober. It was blatantly obvious to him that Peri wasn't interested in most of the advances she got.

Why didn't her would-be suitors realize it? He was certain the last one would be walking with a limp for a very long time. Thank goodness he was above all that.

"Come along, Peri. I think it's time we left."

"Finally," she sighed in relief.

The Doctor wrenched open the door, took two paces, and froze. Across the street was his ninth self, hand-in-hand with his young companion, Rose, who looked somewhat disheveled. Dumbstruck, he watched as they paused in the shadows of an alley for a kiss. There was nothing chaste about it. After a long moment they separated and practically dragged each other down the street.

"Doctor what are you doing? You're blocking the door."

Peri sounded quite peeved, but he found he couldn't move. Finally she slid around him. "What is it, Doctor?" she laid a hand on his arm, glancing uneasily up and down the now-deserted street. "What's wrong?"

"Um ... er ... nothing. Shall we go?" With that he strode off in the opposite direction to his counterpart, a confused Peri trailing behind. *_What on Earth has happened to him?_* He was completely and utterly above that sort of behaviour. No interest whatsoever.

It came as more of a surprise to him than to Peri when he paused in a dimly lit section of the street, pressed her to the wall and kissed her thoroughly. If Peri didn't exactly kiss him back with the same enthusiasm, neither did she push him away. Nor scream, nor hurt him with that move he suspected she'd learnt from Erimem. Instead she just looked at him quizzically.

"What was that for?"

That wasn't the response he was expecting. "Well, I ... um ... er ... I just ..."

Peri smiled to herself. It wasn't often she got to see the Doctor lost for words. And was he blushing? She'd long since concluded that he was completely immune to women, or earth women. Especially after she and Erimem had done their best to seduce his previous incarnation, mostly just to see if they could (_mostly_), and he'd remained utterly oblivious. But clearly he wasn't entirely disinterested.

"So it's a case of monkey see, monkey do, huh?"

"What? And who are you referring to as a monkey. There's only one of us here descended from apes - and they are not monkeys!"

Peri's grin widened. It wasn't often she felt like she had the upper hand where the Doctor was concerned. She liked it. "Oh, come on! Surely you noticed there's something going on between your future self and Rose. I'm assuming it was them you saw when you froze in the door of the bar."

"Pub," he muttered sulkily.

"Whatever. So, what? You saw him enjoying it and thought you'd try for yourself?"

"Well, yes. Sort of."

She forced the grin from her face. "Thanks a bunch!"

"When I say 'yes', I don't mean I put any thought into it. It was more sort of instinct."

This time she frowned at him. "I think we need go back to TARDIS. Now."

"Why?" he asked warily.

Instead of answering she grabbed his hideous aqua tie and yanked him down to her level. Spinning him around, this time she pressed him back against the rough brick wall before kissing him lingeringly. She pulled back and grinned at him again. "Because you need the practice, and this *_really_*isn't the place."

Much, much later Peri smiled softly to herself in the dim light of her bedroom. "You know, we really should catch up with that other version of yourself and Rose."

The Doctor looked up from where he'd been mapping her skin without the use of his hands. "Dare I ask why?"

She slid her hands into his soft, blond curls, encouraging him to continue his task, then arched her back in pleasure as he did so. "Because I think Rose is going to owe me a thank you."


End file.
